Former FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman and former Sevilla sports director Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, known as Monchi, are scheduled to testify on March 10 in a trial held in Barcelona against the club over an alleged unpaid commission to an intermediary for the signing of Jules Koundé.
The civil case was initiated following a claim filed by Isaac Tuúlu López, who alleges involvement in the player's transfer from Sevilla to Barça and claims he is owed around three million euros for his services, which FC Barcelona has refused to pay so far. The claimant has provided a series of WhatsApp messages to support his involvement.
According to the lawsuit, on August 8, 2021, Koeman, then Barça’s coach, contacted Tuúlu to express the need to reinforce the defense with a top-level center-back and showed interest in Koundé. Although the intermediary was on vacation, he immediately began working on the deal. In the following months, Tuúlu reached out to Ramón Planes, then Barça’s technical secretary, to propose the possibility of signing the player and later spoke with Monchi, Sevilla’s sporting director, about the transfer.
The negotiations progressed with various club representatives, including former Barça football director Mateu Alemany, discussing possible player exchanges and financial terms. Despite pauses due to coaching and leadership changes, the transfer was finalized on July 26, 2022, for 50 million euros plus variables.
Tuúlu claims the transfer would not have been possible without his intervention, which prevented Chelsea from closing a deal and allowed Koundé to end up at Barça. Nevertheless, he states he has not received any financial compensation for his efforts, despite fulfilling all his responsibilities and playing a crucial and decisive role in the negotiation.
